Short Stops

We moved to the Watsonville Elks where we only stayed one night and it had nothing to do with the block party that blasted music for 6 hours.  Although it was very economical at $10 (dry camping), we couldn't find much to do.  We did have the best breakfast at the Red Apple Cafe.

We saw this remarkable man with five perfectly-trained dogs.  We watched him push himself down the sidewalk and cross at the crosswalk in front of us.  The dogs knew just where to turn and trotted along with no guidance from him.  They didn't pull or get tangled up, just moved along at a constant pace.  You probably had to be there, but we were both amazed.  I almost didn't get a picture, I was so stunned.

In fact the only thing we could find to do was visit the Elkhorn Estuary.  An estuary is a 'partly enclosed coastal body of brackish water' and an important environment for wildlife.

This is it.  Even I can't get excited about this place.

We saw one otter (I thought they were always in a group) and a group of duck, geese, or pelicans that were so far away that we couldn't identify them even with binoculars.   I'm sure it's better during migration times.

Then we moved another 18 miles to the Santa Cruz Elks, intending to stay a couple of days.  They have closed their RV area to build an Alzheimer care facility.  Certainly an impressive and worthwhile goal.  There were only two people there when we arrived who told us we were welcome to park in a corner of the lot for two nights.  Ron backed into the most inconspicuous corner right next to the dumpster.  Unfortunately, when the Exalted Ruler came by, she decided that we would be in the way for their Monday Memorial Day festivities.  We had arrived on Sunday and she did say we could stay that night as long as we were out by 8am.  Okay . . .

Not to let anything spoil our fun, and before she could change her mind, we took the car and headed for the Santa Cruz boardwalk.  Wow!  What a place!

They have a wooden roller coaster that was built in 1924.

Ron enjoyed his smoked turkey leg.

The place was absolutely packed, but the ride lines didn't seem too bad.

I liked the 'old' mill with rotating waterwheel at the log flume ride.

I never saw so many rides packed into such a small area.

The beach was pretty crowded too.  Of course, as I mentioned, it was Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

That's the Santa Cruz pier in the background, but that's another day.

When we left at 4:30 and began our half-mile trek back to the car, the people were still pouring in.

It was a fun time and took me back to annual trips to Wildwood in New Jersey.